It has been a year since we last visited Sapporo. We’ve come again during a severely cold winter, however this time our visit coincided with the Sapporo Snow Festival and the town was alive with energy, giving us a slightly different taste of the city.

That said, our excitement and enthusiasm for these lively Sapporo streets was almost nothing compared to that of the city’s sharehouse situation. The amount of non-Japanese we passed walking around Sapporo did surprised us, although judging by the all of the party photos decorating the walls of the sharehouses, it seems as though all of the sharemates are having the time of their lives. The staff managing these houses have no trouble communicating in English and treat it as a natural part of their job, and seeing this I could only feel that a broad, global community will come to be cultivated very quickly.

The properties we called upon were all alive with fighting spirit, we have high hopes and expectations for each one. One house was created by renovating an entire building, and another house has incorporated share office facilities in the building managed by both the tenants and a company together. There were also houses nestled in places with heavy snow, and the diversity amongst them all are quite fascinating.

With that said, let us move on to a short introduction on each of these houses!

The great thing about this place is that you can experience nature and have access to an abundance of fresh vegetables all the while still technically living in the city. This is a place we would definitely recommend to those of you seeking a lifestyle among the marvels of nature. There is also a ski slope a 10 minute drive away, making it perfect for those wanting to enjoy winter sports.

The wood stove acts not just a heater, but also plays a main role in the interior design.

This Mac computer is quite prominent in an otherwise nostalgic room, and is available for tenants to use as they please.

A field of pure white lays beyond the window on a day in February.

Room 101. You can maintain privacy and spend time by yourself in your own private room, this one with 14㎡ of space.

Only at this house can you eat your fill of meals prepared with fresh Hokkaido fish and vegetables.

Lastly we take a peek inside a next-generation sharehouse. This house is located on the 3rd and 4th floors, with the 2F being a share office run by the same company, MASSIVE SAPPORO.

Colorful wallpaper and artwork hung at every turn stands out in the living room.

Private rooms are of a simple, easy-to-arrange design.

Just the other day a Chocolate & Cafe shop opened up on the 1F.

The share office. While share office locations are slowly increasing on Tokyo, the concept has come to Hokkaido and will perhaps secure a place in the local culture in the future to come.

A shot of two users hard at work. Casual conversations like these may just lead to your next great business venture. It’s important to have a place to communicate freely with others.

Our impressions on this Sapporo visit is that although living in a sharehouse is quite a unique lifestyle, the industry has the potential to grow bigger with the advent of new, diverse concepts.

Small-scale sharehouses have a relaxed, at-home feel, while large-scale properties are filled with fun facilities. In addition to this we have next-generation sharehouses combined in the same building with similar business ventures, from which we are given a peek at the countless possibilities of what is to come and what we can expect from this industry.

Even in the brittle cold of the north, however, there surely comes a time when seeds sprout and new communities are formed, bringing people together and forming new relationships among them.

We look forward to seeing how things are progressing in our next visit to Sapporo.